Before September of 1995, Microsoft ignored the Internet because their 16-bit Windows 3.1 operating system couldn't handle the 32-bit Internet world. With the introduction of Windows 95, Microsoft decided they owned the Internet.
Instead of having separate accounts at dozens of websites, Microsoft decided that you will have one master account that you will use to log in everywhere. That account will contain your credit card number, bank account numbers, all your personal information and financial records, and Microsoft will own that account.
Well, Microsoft IS the United State's government condoned monopoly, so 200 million Internet users, and 100 major web companies dutifully signed up for Microsoft's Passport wallet service.
In 1999, Internet authorities discovered Microsoft's passport service had numerous security holes, and hackers could steal your personal information. In 2001, the Federal Trade Commission admonished Microsoft for not adhering to their own privacy policy. In 2003, Microsoft purged all the financial records from its Passport servers.
Millions of users continue to sign up for Passport because of the convenience it offers. Nearly 100 websites use Passport as their authentication method. Users don't need to remember separate usernames and passwords for each website. They can log in to all of them using a single email address. Some of the websites let you register without a Passport accont, but others, especially Microsoft owned websites, require you to have a Passport account.
If you sign up for Microsoft Network (MSN) or for a free Hotmail email account, you will be forced to sign up for Microsoft's Passport wallet service. You can sign up for a Passport account with a non-Microsoft email account at Microsoft's Passport website.
To sign up, you need only an email address and a password. After you sign up, you can choose to add personal information to your profile. Then you can indicate if you want to share your information with companies that use Passport. If you choose to share your personal information, be aware that Microsoft shares it with every passport website you visit, and those websites are not required to adhere to Microsoft's privacy policy.
The Internet does not need a master account repository for users personal information. Users don't need to remember separate usernames and passwords for each website. Every Internet user has memorized two or three different email addresses and half a dozen different passwords that they use everywhere.
If an Internet master account repositiory is desired, it should NOT be owned or operated by Microsoft. A repository of personal account information must be operated by an honest, independant company.
Note: In April 2000, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled that Microsoft violated two sections of the 1890 Sherman Act. He concluded that Microsoft was an illegal monopoly that used anti-competitive means to maintain its dominance in Intel-based operating systems.
Copyright(C) Bucaro TecHelp.
Permission is granted for the below article to forward, reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website, offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as long as no changes are made and the byline, copyright, and the resource box below is included.
About The Author
To learn how to maintain your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web site and make money on the Web visit bucarotechelp.com To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter visit bucarotechelp.com
Microsoft Business Solutions ? Great Plains is designed to meet... Read More
I have recently created my first Php program. I wanted... Read More
Microsoft released Service Pack 2 (SP2) for the Windows XP... Read More
This tutorial covers OLAP solutions used by Data warehouses and... Read More
Security flaws have long plagued Internet Explorer (IE), the market-dominating... Read More
At the end of XX century, in the late 1990th... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is written in Great Plains... Read More
What is RAID RECOVERY?RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive... Read More
The cornerstone of successful automated office systems is the ability... Read More
We would like first emphasize the change in the paradigm.... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions CRM is present several years on the... Read More
Which Type of Shop Can Rely On A Home Built... Read More
Former Great Plains Software Dynamics/eEnterprise, and currently Microsoft Business Solutions... Read More
I started using PIP (Picture It Publishing) Platinum 2002 right... Read More
There are so many different programs that clutter up your... Read More
Spyware and Adware infest over 90 percent of computers in... Read More
MicroWorld Technologies, Inc. the leading solutions provider in the area... Read More
Microsoft PowerPoint has dramatically changed the way in which academic... Read More
Are you lost in the mess of documents that get... Read More
If you have Microsoft Great Plains and support it... Read More
When you think... Read More
MSN messenger is a pretty cool invention. I mean I'm... Read More
Well, even if the combination might look very unusual, we... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, former Great Plains Software eEnterprise,... Read More
Bill of Lading is required report for Logistics and Freight... Read More
Find out why Spyware Removal from computers is important and... Read More
One of the things we can be as certain of... Read More
What is Tripwire?Tripwire is a form intrusion detection system (IDS)... Read More
Do you remember that frustrating feeling when you find an... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions CRM is web-based CRM application, deploying all... Read More
The COSMIC FP (function point) software quality metric, is no... Read More
Microsoft CRM ? Client Relationship Management package from Microsoft Business... Read More
Sometimes your PC will start acting strange for no apparent... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains could be tuned and setup to fit... Read More
DBxtra goes ASPGetting to the information hidden within corporate databases... Read More
Several years ago Microsoft purchased Great Plains Software, then Navision... Read More
Just stress testing one of the latest Linux distributions. Been... Read More
Google Inc. has launched a new software package that allows... Read More
When you own a small business, time is money. And... Read More
Microsoft CRM was designed to be easily customizable. Microsoft CRM... Read More
Remember old good days when your company probably had Great... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains has full-featured Manufacturing suite of modules: Capacity... Read More
Intro This concise article will tell you in plain English... Read More
Beginning with Domino version R4 it has integration with the... Read More
Language development computer: Computer-based method for aiding language development seems... Read More
Your computer cost you from hundreds to thousands of dollars,... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains was historically designed to serve... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is written in Great Plains... Read More
FTP stands for "file transfer protocol". FTP is basically a... Read More
When Windows fails to boot it is normally caused by... Read More
Software |